The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Thursday floated a consultation paper seeking views on various issues, including whether FM radio stations should be permitted to broadcast independent news bulletins. It has also sought views on issues related to the annual license fee and license period for FM radio players. It has also sought views on whether it should be mandatory for all mobile handsets sold in the country to have in-built FM radio transmitters.

Currently, FM radio operators are allowed to carry the news bulletins of All India Radio in exactly the same format without any alterations. No other news and current affairs programmes are permitted.

In its statement, the telecom and broadcast regulator said that industry bodies and players have made representations that FM radio stations must be allowed to broadcast news and current affairs just as it is allowed on private TV channels and digital platforms, among others.

As per the policy guidelines, FM radio license holders are required to pay an annual license fee to the government at the rate of 4 per cent of the gross revenue of its FM radio channel for the financial year or 2.5 per cent of the NOTEF (Non-Refundable One Time Entry Fee) for the concerned city, whichever is higher.

In its statement, the regulator said that it received a reference from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in May last year seeking recommendations on two issues. This included the removal of the linkage to the non-refundable one-time entry fee (NOTEF) in the formula for the annual fee as prescribed in the FM Phase III policy guidelines. It has also sought recommendations on whether there is a need to extend the existing FM license period of 15 years by three years.

TRAI has also sought comments on the issue of whether there is a need to mandate that all mobile handsets manufactured and sold in India should have an in-built FM radio receiver. This comes as industry players have represented to TRAI that with the introduction of 4G handsets, device manufacturers and operating systems (iOS and Android) are turning the FM tuners off.